Thierry Brunel is the Chief Investment Strategist at Matter Family Office, advising families and institutions on long-term wealth strategy.
When people talk about family offices, they often think of tailored service models for ultra-high-net-worth families. But beyond the concierge approach and multigenerational trust structures lies a powerful investment discipline that anyone managing meaningful capital can learn from.
Family offices don’t invest for the next quarter. They invest for the next quarter-century.
This mindset isn’t just about patience. It’s about having a structured, future-facing investment philosophy that combines strategic portfolio management, ongoing diligence and a deep understanding of both internal and external variables. Whether you’re advising clients, running a single-family office or managing your own wealth, there are five core principles to borrow from the family office playbook.
1. Invest with a multi-decade horizon.
At the center of a family office approach is the commitment to planning for decades, not months. This means every allocation decision is influenced by a holistic view of both internal family dynamics and external macroeconomic conditions.
Internally, capital needs are mapped against:
• Current and future cash flows
• Distinct goals by entity (e.g., revocable trusts versus generational trusts)
• Potential tax triggers, such as liquidity events, trust distributions or estate transfers
For example, a family might use one trust to fund grandchildren’s education in the near term and another to support philanthropic giving in perpetuity. Each requires different investment timelines and liquidity planning.
Externally, long-term thinking includes modeling for:
• Monetary policy shifts and fiscal policy impacts
• Capital market assumptions over 10 to 30 years
• Structural trends like demographics, global capital flows and geopolitical risks
The goal isn’t to predict the future perfectly but to be prepared for multiple versions of it.
2. Build a structured portfolio management framework.
What distinguishes family offices from more reactive investors is their reliance on a clearly defined portfolio management framework. This framework is built on two foundational questions:
• What return is needed to fulfill both current and future obligations?
• What investment risk is acceptable to achieve that return?
From there, asset allocation decisions are made—balancing income versus capital appreciation, liquidity needs and the timing of distributions. Families often segment entities based on their purpose: retirement accounts and revocable trusts might be grouped to support lifestyle spending, while generational trusts are geared toward legacy and long-term growth.
This segmentation supports effective asset location strategies—matching asset types (e.g., high-growth equities, municipal bonds, private investments) with the most tax-efficient structures.
3. Rebalance based on drift, not calendar dates.
A core discipline among family offices is portfolio rebalancing—but not in the traditional, calendared sense. Instead of rebalancing quarterly or annually, they rebalance when a portfolio materially drifts from its target allocation.
This approach offers two advantages:
1. Tax Efficiency: Avoids unnecessary gains realization that can come with routine rebalancing.
2. Opportunism: Enables rebalancing during periods of volatility, which often don’t align neatly with quarter-end statements.
Understanding how often to rebalance a portfolio isn’t about frequency—it’s about materiality. If a portfolio is still within its target bands, doing nothing may be the right choice.
4. Manage liquidity with intention.
Many family offices hold allocations to low-risk investment examples like U.S. Treasurys or municipal bonds, not just for safety but to fund near-term liabilities. This buffer allows them to make deliberate, illiquid allocations, especially to private equity and real assets.
Private investments require careful planning. Commitments must be timed to avoid over-concentration in capital calls, and distributions need to be modeled to manage reinvestment risk.
What makes this possible? Detailed forecasting of both inflows and outflows—something family offices prioritize as much as return generation.
5. Constantly challenge assumptions.
What truly separates the best family office investors is their rigorous diligence and intellectual flexibility. They don’t set and forget. They revisit their portfolio assumptions, monitor market shifts and stress-test their frameworks regularly.
Risk isn’t just measured in standard deviation—it’s measured in the opportunity cost of being unprepared.
This doesn’t mean chasing trends. On the contrary, it means being patient enough to wait for the right opportunities but informed enough to act when the environment shifts.
Make a plan and work the plan.
To invest like a family office is to move away from reaction and toward intention. It’s about matching structure with flexibility, discipline with open-mindedness.
Intentional family offices understand that true wealth isn’t just about growing assets, it’s about aligning those assets with a purpose. Whether the goal is to support three generations, fund philanthropic missions or create durable income, the secret lies in long-term planning and consistent execution.
For advisors and investors looking to create lasting impact, the family office model offers a blueprint worth emulating.
The information provided here is not investment, tax or financial advice. You should consult with a licensed professional for advice concerning your specific situation.
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